The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is warning area residents of a phone scam. Criminals call people and the intended victims receive calls from foreign area codes, which typically rings once and then disconnects. Although, sometimes the call rings long enough for the victim to answer, which the caller indicates they are in distress and hangs up. If the victim returns the call, charges may apply, in some cases $19 or more.

The sheriff’s office recommends that people only return calls to numbers you know or to unknown numbers that leave legitimate messages.

The primary area codes involved in the current scam are 284, 473, 649, 767, 809 and 876.